Arlington Classic Criterium - NE

USA, August 3, 2003

2002 Results Results

Frank Pipp Keeps it Rolling

Men's report by Mark Zalewski

Men Pro/1/2

Frank Pipp, the 26 year old sprinter from local Chicago area team, Athletes by Design, continues to show everyone that he is a rider to whom you must pay attention. Coming off a huge performance at The International Cycling Classic - Superweek, where he held and won the Best Sprinter's jersey for the majority of the series, Frank Pipp was able to keep his winning form rolling at the Arlington Classic Criterium.

The Arlington Classic is only two years old. However, with superb organization and a wheelbarrow full of cash, this event has quickly earned a top-spot on many regional racer's calendar. And if it wasn't on the same weekend at the NYC race, it would surely be hotly attended by many pro teams. In fact, the defending champion of the race, U.S. Postal's Robbie Ventura, was scheduled to defend his title. But the local rider was called to New York at the last minute and left the duties all to his local teammate, Kenny Labbé.

How it unfolded

All of the races were high-average speed affairs on this very technical, eight-turn course. A slight downhill in the last two turns also made the sprints for the line that much faster. The peloton at this race was visibly dominated by the orange and blue kits of the ABD team.

Due to the quick pace, breaks were not staying off the front for very long - and once again the orange and blue of ABD was always at the front, and with numbers. Eventually, a break containing Frank Pipp, Pete Hanna (Bianchi/Grand Performance) and Todd Cornelius (Team Bloomington/Touchstone Energy) got enough of a gap on the field to sneak around the corners out of sight.

As the time expired and the race went to laps, another ABD rider attempted to bridge to the break, in order to give his teammate a lead-out. Mike Ebert put in a hard solo-effort to make it across, with a little help from Pipp. "I saw my teammate trying to come up, so I slowed it down enough," said Pipp. Luckily for him, the pack was far enough back and Ebert made it to them with one lap to go.

As the break approached the start/finish for the bell-lap, Pipp was taking his turn on the front, and just kept going. "I tried to go as hard as I could through the stretch," said Pipp. "When I saw I had a gap I knew it was all or nothing."

Fellow break rider Todd Cornelius (Team Bloomington) saw it unfolding right in front of him. "I was watching for [ABD] the whole time. When I saw [Pipp] go, I knew it was the ball game." But Cornelius didn't just give up. "At that point, I figured I could drive it hard and get a top four, or sit up and get 30th in the field."

"Mike [Ebert] was the guy who set it up for me," said Pipp of his ABD teammate. "I just kind of rolled through." And he did so in convincing fashion. Pipp easily put 150 meters between him and his chasers on the final lap, and was able to enjoy an extra-long celebration down the finish stretch.

Long fails in attack but succeeds in sprint

Women's report by Trudy van der Straaten

In only its second year running the Arlington Classic Criterium looks to become a popular event on the women's road racing calendar, thanks in part to the generous purses and primes, and overall smooth race organization. The fast and technically challenging course in downtown Arlington Heights features eight corners in 0.6 miles, finishing on a slight uphill rise.

Women 1/2/3

Magen Long (The Bike Store)
Photo ©: Mark Zalewski

Despite the impressive $3000 purse only 26 riders turned out for the 40-minute Women's 123s race, by which time temperatures had climbed well into the 80s [high 20's Celsius] and the wind had started to pick up. As with the 4s event, the field remained largely strung out for most of the race, with constant attacks keeping the pace very fast. After 5 laps a small lead group of 5 or 6 maintained position ahead of the field but never really established any sizable gap. Elizabeth Morse (OBRU/The Bicycle Store) and last year's winner Alison Dwyer (America's Dairyland) both made separate solo attacks roughly halfway into the race but were also brought back to the main pack, which by that stage had dwindled down to about 16 riders.

Heather Haviland
Photo ©: Mark Zalewski

With less than 7 minutes to go OBRU/The Bicycle Store rider Magen Long launched an aggressive attack off the 6th prime sprint staying off the front for a lap until ABD sprinter Kelly Benjamin and TDS riders brought her back. Benjamin and teammate Sarah Tillotson suddenly picked up the tempo with two laps to go, leading the rest of the field out for the sprint, but were not able to take it all the way to the line. Round the last corner in second position, Magen Long sprinted past Andrea Ratkovic up the slight rise to the finish line for a well-deserved win, with Ratkovic taking second and TDS rider Shawn Heidgen in third place.

Women 4

A $700 purse race drew a sizeable field for the Women's 4 race. With temperatures already in the mid 70's [low to mid 20's Celsius] by 8.30 am, 28 riders assembled at the start line, including last year's runner-up Julie Tatar (Brazen Dropouts) and 12-year old road and track sensation Samantha Schneider (Coyote). Closely spaced and somewhat tight uneven corners caused the field to be strung out over most of the course with some bunching towards the top of the uphill stretch. After the second prime sprint, Tatar and Trudy van der Straaten (C-U Racing) managed to get away but were quickly brought back to the main field, which then stayed together for the remainder of the 30 minute + 2 laps race. An extremely close finish line sprint between Schneider and Tatar was ultimately decided by camera, with win going to Schneider, and van der Straaten taking third place.

Photography

Images by Mark Zalewski/www.showchoir.net

Magen Long (The Bike Store) on her way to yet another win
Sarah Tillotson (Athletes by Design) leads an early break.
Heather Haviland working hard in the women's race.
All back together. Jen Hawkins (Jamba Juice) pulls at the front.
Jen Hawkins leads the peloton.
The sprint for the line goes to...
...Magen Long, the very promising up-and-coming rider from Oklahoma.
"Hey, will I get on Cyclingnews.com? Kenny, tell him to put this on Cyclingnews.com!"
Kenny Labbe (USPS) reveals the results of US Postal's attempts to implant blue-tongue lizard genes in its riders to improve their heat-tolerance.
"They're coming quick!" One of the early attempts to get away.
All back together again, with Postal leading the way.
Steve Tilson, a veteran of the U.S. cycling scene, takes the corner tight.
Labbe keeps an eye on Superweek's Overall Sprint winner Frank Pipp (ABD).
Fast corners made for action-packed racing
A west Virginia rider takes one of the courses many turns
Two laps to go. Pipp and the others looks back to see where his bridging teammate is.
Pipp's teammate is trying to bridge, but the pack still has him in sight.
One lap to go. The ABD teammate is able to catch on as Pipp rolls off the front on an impromptu attack.
"Does this team kit make me look fat?" Pipp showed his power putting enough distance between him and the chasers to allow for plenty of sponsor time.
"Hey, thanks to all my fans on the left..."
"Stick a fork in me, I'm done." Second place goes to Pete Hanna (Bianchi/Grand Performance) with ABD's Mike Ebert taking third.
Team ABD also picks up fifth place with John Puffer winning the field sprint.
Frank Pipp basks in that post-victory glow.

Results

Men's Pro 1 / 2
 
1 Frank Pipp
2 Pete Hanna
3 Mike Ebert
5 John Puffer
5 Todd Cornelius
6 Todd Hancock
7 Brian Hammer
8 Ryan Nenninger
9 Rob Kelley
10 Steve Tilford
11 Kurt Rees
12 Andy Cicero
13 Dan Long
14 Frank Dierhing
15 Tim Elebaut
16 James Lennon
17 Joshua Carter
18 Kenny Labbe
19 John Faull
20 Jeff Schroetlin
 
Women's 1/2/3
 
1 Magen Long
2 Andrea Ratkovic
3 Shawn Heidgen
4 Kelly Benjamin
5 Elizabeth Morse
6 CarrieAnn Kopernik
7 Debbie Dust
8 Catherine Walberg
9 Anne Meyer
10 Katie Weber
11 Alison Dwyer
12 Sarah Tillotson
13 Natalie Klembu
14 Heather Haviland
15 Rebecca Much
16 Jennifer Hawkins
17 Rachel Eichers
18 Jean Tschampa
19 Jamie Surges
20 Lindsay Wetzel
21 Andrea Venteicher
22 Francine Haas
23 Melanie Fitz
 
Juniors
 
1 Cassel Lessinger
2 Jason Carr
3 Sam Brower
4 Alex Lewis
5 Peter Starykowicz
6 Shane Feehery
7 Christopher Powers
8 Matt Kwapisz
9 Matt Novak
10 Brad Williams
11 Jeffrey Powers
12 Brandon Feehery
13 Alex Andre
14 Paul Struebing
15 Sean Hopkins
 
Men's Category 3
 
1 Reid Mumford
2 Robert Quinn
3 William Baudhein
4 Steven Driscoll
5 Trey McClure
6 Rob Brugman
7 Adam Lesniakowski
8 Shannon Malinquist
9 Robert Kron
10 Cassel Lessinger
11 Ulric de Young
12 Scott Jacobson
13 Jason Mygrant
14 Chris Vogel
15 Robert Schrank
 
Women's Category 4
 
1 Samantha Schneider
2 Julie Tatar
3 Trudy van der Straaten
4 Susan Uphill
5 Catherine Burnham
6 Vicki Heck
7 Marilyn Powell
8 Julianne Fiocca
9 Kristin Koury
10 Peggy Murrin
11 Kim Morris
12 Elizabeth Fedofsky
13 Cynthia Dywan
14 Marilyn Cullinane
15 Gretchen Mau
16 Kathleen Dunne
17 Anne Barnes
DNF Jeanette Fortmann
DNF Emily MacDonald
DNF Pamela Molitor
DNF Ramona Kuna
DNF Eve Pytel
DNF Kristin Ostberg
DNF Imelda March
DNF Keri Anderson
DNF Suzan Melton
DNF Laura Morgan
DNF Marcie Weiss
 
Men's Category 4
 
1 Bradley Pearson
2 Andy Smart
3 Delfino Parra
4 John Wrycza
5 Skip Fotland
6 James Holton
7 Jeremy Musson
8 Brandon Antoniewicz
9 Mike Stevens
10 Richard Adamczyk
11 Alex Vostik
12 Marc Taylor
13 Aaron Vogel
14 Timothy Henry
15 Bob Hockin
16 Andy Walton
17 Lee Heaton
18 Martin Morris
19 Stathy Touloumis
20 Angelo DeGiovini
 
Men's Category 5 / Citizen
 
1 Gary Bentz
2 Thomas Meersman
3 Marc Moeller
4 Steve Holeczy
5 Douglas Moss
6 Chris Waterstraat
7 Scott Ligocki
8 Christian Blaine
9 William Brown
10 Joe Farris
11 Peter Tampa
12 Michael Ruckman
13 Gregory Gohman
14 Patrick Stevens
15 Wayne Thompson
16 Steve Schien
17 Paul Ring
18 Steve VanZale
19 Loch Miwa
20 Bryce Hanna
 
Masters 40+
 
1 Steve Tilford
2 Todd Metz
3 Darrell Bratton
4 David Polin
5 Gary Doering
6 Gene Maken
7 William Ochowicz
8 John Fleekenstein
9 Wayne Simon
10 Bob Hockin
11 Vincent Boyer
12 Victor Grzebicki
13 Jim Marshall
14 Brian Choate
15 Brian Maroon